What about Dr. James William Elliott (1874 - 1920). Is that a silly suggestion? Did he live in Chicago? Oh, but just a moment---I think I just remembered something as I type. Oh dear! It probably wasn't! I do remember reading that Vernon was extolling the book to him and he snorted that the bottom ...

I have no idea who Erdnase was and in fact I don't really care. However, I would have imagined it would be fairly easy to figure out who he was but of course I must be wrong with all the various theories and speculation. Still, it seems to me that you should be looking for an amateur magician ( I do...

Yes, there may be a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of skilled card cheats with a vast knowledge of sleight of hand.. However, I can assure you they are in the distinct minority. VERY distinct minority! Less than 5% is my estimation. Magicians are the ones who have all the knowledge of those fancy techn...

I have nothing to do with the "new" candidate, nor am I (at this time) presenting him. The "tizzy" part regards the identity of the person. It is not "my" candidate, and I have yet to be convinced that the person is a viable suspect. But knowing who it is, I am certain...

I am positive it was a magician. I have led a somewhat wicked life and have met various wicked people, a few of whom were card cheats. Contrary to mythical perceptions they were not the romanticized picture one would imagine at all. They tended to be a little uncouth and would never in a million yea...

The worst thing you can do is hide from creditors or people you owe money to. It only makes things worse. Best to tell them up front that you screwed up and you will try hard to pay them back one day. It won't make them feel any better but at least it won't make them feel any worse. The moment you s...

I have seen Paul Daniels perform live many times and go over very well indeed. However, I have never ever seen him once get a standing ovation! Perhaps he may have done at a magicians convention but of course that doesn't count as magicians always get excited over the wrong things. After 60 years of...

I think this is a cultural thing. I have never seen once in my entire life even the top variety acts in the UK getting a standing ovation. And certainly not a magician. You have to be an opera singer to get one of those in the UK. In North America however, you can get a standing ovation for sneezing...

Somebody once mentioned (I think it was Billy McComb) that Harbin made far money out of his Origami books than he ever did out of magic. I believe it. They were very popular at one time. And I remember when I was a kid seeing him do Origami on British television although only his hands were seen. I ...

I have seen a video of Doug Henning on a TV show where the host tried to grab the silk he was using. Doug backed away so the guy couldn't get it but the very fact he backed away ruined the effect as it was perfectly obvious to millions of viewers that there was something wrong with the silk because ...

Stanley Collins also thought that the double lift was abominable so his opinions should be viewed in that light. However, I have noticed that old time magicians were not keen on using the pockets in magic as it was considered in vaguely bad taste. Turning pockets inside out was considered inelegant ...

Incidentally there is a very entertaining version by Bobo in a rather obscure book called "Watch this one". I think it predates Modern Coin Magic and it is a remarkably good little book. I use a few gags from this book and the Cards to Pocket is a plum of the book. Particularly good for ch...

Oh dear! No wonder the American Bill Duncan couldn't get on television like the Scottish Bill Duncan! Nobody said anything about carrying a special deck around with you! When performing impromptu by all means use a regular deck. I never carry a svengali deck around with me. The last thing I want to ...

They most certainly do think the magician is using trick cards. The only way you can deal with that is to have the deck examined or borrow them. The scenario for borrowing them is very limited, particularly if you perform impromptu. I do agree that borrowing the deck makes the tricks more effective ...

Aha! I just worked it out on a calculator. On a pro rata basis the Erdnase thread averaged over two years the grand total of 26452 views. My thread over a year and a half has garnered 26,337 views. So that means I am slightly in the lead or at worst equal to the Erdnase thread. See? Statistics can p...

I just looked. 1,983,954 views. It appears that I have a little way to go yet. On the other hand my video has been up only two years. In fact less than two years. The Erdnase thread has been up 15 years. I am going to get a calculator and see how it works out per year. I might be in with a chance ye...

I have discussed this video before. However, the last time I looked at it, it only had about 200 view or so. I am astonished to see that it now has 26,337 views! What a surprise! I didn't do a thing to make it happen. People LOVE this stuff! I wish I did....................... https://www.youtube.co...

How about: Make Magic Great Again JMD Alas I think this is a lost cause the way things are going. Incidentally I have always thought that Richard has done an incredible service for the art of magic even when he reprinted the book the first time. And moreover, I am pretty sure he is not doing it for...

OK. Now I have a special deal to offer. First the set of three ninety minute DVDs described in my last post. Explanations of the Svengali deck, the worm, the Dutch Looper, the mouse and the cups and sponges trick are given in much detail. These are the strongest magic pitch items. Most important of ...

I have a set of 3 DVDs for sale on the pitch game. And specifically about pitching Svengali decks and other magic. The DVDs are each 90 minutes in length. I will "come to the bat" later (UK grafter's expression for what Americans call "the turn") but for now read this review by N...

I have decided to exert myself to try and get some money out of you all which I am quite sure is an impossible task. This has all come about because of Joe McKay starting a topic on the svengali deck. Of course he (or perhaps it was his mother) was silly enough to buy one from me when he was a child...

I've had good reactions using a routine based mostly on "How Right You Are" by Ganson. It works well with the rough-smooth deck version, but you can't show all the cards being the same. With a Svengali deck version I've gotten great reactions showing all the cards being the same as the fi...

I am always amused when magicians prattle about the svengali deck when of course they don't actually know anything about it. Grafters stole the item decades ago so it no longer belongs to magicians which is just as well because they don't know how to work it properly. Since naturally I am the way, t...

EndersGame wrote:As Christopher1979 points out, there's a LOT of youtube videos like this out there.. You'll find a lot of 12-16 year olds doing that kind of thing on youtube, and I don't think that will go away in a hurry.

I rather like Mr Thompson's work particularly the way he does the Malini Card Stab. The thing that probably intrigues me the most about the book is the advertised trade show act he used to do. However, I won't spend $300 to find out what it is. I purchase a lot of books but I would never be daft eno...

I was given the secret of how to become very, very, very rich publishing magic books by someone who had already done it. He gave me the secret on his deathbed How to get a million dollars through magic publishing: First, start off with two million... For most people yes. For this particular gentlem...

Given how the price of the Colour Books of Mentalism crashed when Prism was published, I think magic book speculation is a risky business ... I think the same could be said of publishing expensive magic books as well! I was given the secret of how to become very, very, very rich publishing magic bo...

This thread reminds me of the wise adage of an old grafter I once knew who used to be a magician. In addition to telling me all sorts of things about famed svengali pitchman Joe Stuthard he also imparted the following wisdom, "Magicians will buy ANYTHING! If you were to advertise gold plated th...

The words "gifted" and "Blackpool" are not compatible I am afraid. As for thieving kids I think Dublin has the highest efficiency where that is concerned. The kids there could teach Slydini one or two things about misdirection.

Too many young people flipping cards about for my lilking in that video. Horrifying. I find it quite unsettling.. They should be out shoplifting and breaking windows like I did when I was a kid. Standards are definitely slipping nowadays.